Confused About Venezuela? Start Here
Be the most informed person you know by digesting this complilation of the best reporting on Venezuela so far.
By now you know the basics. In the predawn hours of January 3, 2026, members of the U.S. military swept into Venezuela, slaughtered dictator Nicolas Maduro’s security detail, and abducted Maduro and his wife. Early news reports put the death toll at 80 individuals. Now Trump is saying the U.S. is going to “run” Venezuela for the unforeseeable future.
You can find the play by play details anywhere, but right now context is the most important thing you need. Below I’ll provide you with the healthiest reporting and perspectives I’ve found from reputable journalists and fact-based commentators so you can quickly discern what’s actually happening.
So skip around, take what you need, and share this widely.
Quick reminder: You don’t have to navigate our broken information ecosystem alone. I help people understand what’s really going on by pointing them to fact-based reporting and expertise from trustworthy sources. Paid subscribers make it possible for this work to remain available to everyone. To become a paid subscriber click here.
How Media Is Manufacturing Consent
First things first, as you continue to follow this story you’ll likely be contending with mainstream American media that has never met a United States act of aggression it hasn’t laundered into a positive development. So lets start with a critique of the media’s coverage so you are primed for healthy skepticism in the weeks and months to come.
Salon, The mass media’s blind spot on Trump’s Venezuela escalation
Mainstream media coverage of Trump’s attack on Venezuela and capture of Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, has not merely failed to interrogate the Pentagon’s actions, it has actively laundered them, presenting an act of war as a technocratic maneuver, a coup as a “capture” and an invasion as an “operation.” Americans have seen this pattern before, and the consequences were catastrophic.
See also The Intercept, The Media Refuses to Call Trump’s Venezuela Attack an Act of War
How Trump Laid The Groundwork With Extrajudicial Murder
Here is a refresher timeline of the US military escalation against Venezuela over the course of 2025 from NBC’s local Washington D.C. station.
NBC4, A timeline of the U.S. military’s buildup and strikes against Venezuela leading to Maduro’s capture
Quick Fact Check On Narco-Terrorism Lie
To justify their actions, Trump and his cronies are making wild claims that Maduro is a narco-terrorist, there was no way to notify Congress of the assault ahead of time, each of the boat strikes over the last several months saved 25,000 people, and Venezuela “stole” U.S. oil. A fact check from Politifact sets the record straight.
Bottom line, “experts on drugs and Venezuela told Politifact the country plays a minor role in trafficking drugs that reach the U.S.”
Read the full Politifact fact check here. Watch their video below.
It’s About Big Oil Calling The Shots
Maduro is not a good person, but the real story has nothing to do with drug trafficking.
Big Oil responded to Trump’s personal request for $1 billion at an April 2024 presidential campaign fundraiser (he said it would be a “deal” for the tycoons in attendance) by spending $445 million in the election cycle to influence Trump and Congress.
Popular Information, Venezuela raid enriches MAGA billionaire
The extraordinary attack…created a financial windfall for a prominent Trump-supporting billionaire, investor Paul Singer.
In 2024, Singer…donated $5 million to Make America Great Again Inc., Trump’s Super PAC…He also donated an undisclosed amount to fund Trump’s second transition…
In November 2025, Singer acquired Citgo, the U.S.-based subsidiary of Venezuela’s state-run oil company…for $5.9 billion…
Singer acquired Citgo at a bargain price in large part due to the embargo…on Venezuela oil imports to the United States…
Maduro’s government was also seeking to appeal court approval of Singer’s bid for Citgo. Now that Maduro has been ousted, however, it seems unlikely that the appeal will continue…
Industry observers anticipate “a rapid rerouting of Venezuelan oil exports, re-establishing the U.S. as the major buyer of the country’s volumes.” Jaime Brito, an oil analyst at OPIS, said access to Venezuelan oil imports “will be a game changer for U.S. Gulf Coast… refiners in terms of profitability.”
Paul Singer…will be one of the largest beneficiaries.
Trump didn’t notify Congress of his power grab. He notified oil companies.
Trump said he talked to “all of” the oil companies and said “they want to go in so badly.”
More on Trump’s resource grab in coordination with Big Oil here:
The New Republic, You Won’t Believe Who Trump Told About Venezuela Attack Ahead of Time
“Before and after. And they want to go in, and they’re gonna do a great job for the people of Venezuela,” the president said. “And they’re gonna represent us well.”
Trump seemed to have no reservations about revealing that his government isn’t a democracy at all—it’s an oligarchy, where companies come first and his constituents don’t matter whatsoever. U.S. oil companies are already cashing in on his brazen constitutional violation.
And here’s reporting from More Perfect Union on how Big Oil met with Venezuelan opposition leader, Maria Corina Machado, just a month ago to discuss investment opportunities if Maduro was ever removed:
And, of course:
For more see, Fossil Fuel Industry Donors See Major Returns in Trump’s Policies, Brennan Center.
Not Regime Change but Puppet Government
Trump says we are going to “run” Venezuela for now. No one from the U.S. government has satisfactorily explained how this will happen. Declarations like this one from Mike Waltz, the guy who accidentally put a reporter on a Signal chat discussing an impending U.S. military strike in Yemen last March, don’t really hold up.
Political analyst Sawyer Hackett give us the scoop that this is really about finding the right puppet to “lead” Venezuela in a way that allows the U.S. oil companies to do whatever they want.
…the administration has effectively handpicked their preferred successor to Maduro, his vice president Delcy Rodriguez, who has deep ties to the oil industry.
This operation had nothing to do with the welfare of the Venezuelan people or combating drug trafficking. Trump and Hegseth and Rubio and Miller don’t care about democracy in Venezuela. This was an extraction campaign.
They’re perfectly happy keeping the same repressive illegitimate regime in place so long as they keep Venezuela’s oil industry open to Trump‘s favorite oligarchs.
So stop calling this a regime change. Maduro may be gone, but his regime‘s power structure and criminal networks are still fully intact and soon they’ll be doing business with Trump‘s billionaire allies.
Illegal Imperialist Intervention? A New World Order?
According to United Nations rules use of force by member nations is only justified when acting in self-defense.
The United States government has no coherent justifications.
The New Republic, Marco Rubio Crashes and Burns Defending Trump’s Plan to Run Venezuela
Rubio flailed Sunday during an appearance on ABC’s This Week, when host George Stephanopoulos asked him under what legal authority Trump intended to “run” Venezuela.
“Under—well, first of all, what’s gonna happen here is that we have a quarantine on their oil. That means their economy will not be able to move forward until the conditions that are in the national interest of the United States and the interests of Venezuelan people are met. And that’s what we intend to do,” Rubio replied.
He continued to rant that he was “hopeful” this plan would lead to “positive results,” meaning a Venezuela that was not a “narco-trafficking paradise” and had an oil industry “where the wealth goes to the people, not to a handful of corrupt individuals.”
Unfortunately for Rubio, the question hadn’t been, “What are your hopes and dreams?”
Legal expert David Cole discusses this on Democracy Now!
The Trump administration did not seek congressional authorization prior to attacking Venezuela, as is required by the Constitution. It also violated “probably the first principle of international law … that countries have to respect their neighbors, and they can’t simply invade a neighbor or any other sovereign nation because they don’t like the way they are running things there,” says law professor David Cole. The attack was clearly not a law enforcement operation, as the administration has claimed, but an “imperialist intervention,” says Cole, who notes President Trump’s comments on extracting oil from the region.
Full Democracy Now! video here.
That’s Y Media has a concise explainer on how questions of legality dissolve under the wider implications of Trump’s power grab. It looks like the establishment of a new “lawless, jungle-style” world order, sanctioning other authoritarian states to create their own regional spheres of dominance.
George Bush got congressional approval before Iraq and it still was a disaster. So the legality of this particular act isn’t the whole issue…
It’s about what kind of world this creates for all of us…Trump just handed authoritarian Russia and China the perfect justification. ‘Why can’t we dominate our own neighbors, too?’
’Russia, you can have Ukraine, or most of it. I’ll help you. China, maybe you can have Taiwan. I’ll have Venezuela.’
…That’s how the 19th century worked. In the 19th century you had great powers. They ruled their regions. Few treaties. Zero [international] laws. Lots of war. Then came the 20th century and its horrors. States tried something new. International law, the U.N., and in democracies, checks and balances to rein in war. Was it perfect? Was it fair? Far from it, but it created guardrails, a shared language, trade, a system that restrained some of the worst instincts of power or at least gave ways to solve issues through other means. By not even pretending to seek democratic approval at home or legal justification abroad on Venezuela, Trump is pushing us one step closer to a lawless, jungle-style world order. A return to the 19th century except this time with nuclear weapons, AI, chemical and biological tech. It’s a much scarier prospect.
More from The New Republic, Trump Is Reviving a Disastrous, Forgotten Era in U.S. Foreign Policy
Trump, or his advisors, may have also taken to heart the Russian argument that the U.S. could be the master of its hemisphere and leave Eastern Europe to Putin. Whatever scheme Trump is following, the potential outcome here is clear. The last era of imperial fights over “spheres of influence,” scramble for resources, and control of the seas and colonies led directly to two world wars and the Great Depression. Now Trump is doing his part to revive that era without any awareness, or care, for the catastrophes that followed.
And from The Contrarian, Making a Mockery of Checks and Balances
The consequences of Trump’s invasion of Venezuela are potentially enormous. It will be harder to condemn aggression by Russia or China. It well could involve a long-term involvement in Venezuela at great costs; occupying another nation rarely goes well. It could be a precursor of unwarranted aggression against other countries on Trump’s whims.
In just the last two days Trump has hinted at possible U.S. action against Colombia, Cuba, Greenland, Iran, and Mexico.
How Do People In Venezuela Actually Feel?
Some are celebrating. Some are defending Maduro. But the best reporting is emphasizing a feeling of deep uncertainty and fear.
The Guardian, Few in Caracas are celebrating as they face an uncertain post-Maduro future
“If I thought it would improve the country I’d welcome it,” Leandro added, as shoppers were allowed into the overcrowded supermarket in small groups. “But I don’t believe this will happen. If they wanted peace, this isn’t the way to achieve it.”
A Paramilitary Crackdown Has Already Begun In Venezuela
Financial Times, Venezuela launches wave of repression after US seizure of Nicolás Maduro
Venezuela’s government has launched a crackdown in the wake of the US capture of Nicolás Maduro, arresting journalists and deploying paramilitary forces to suppress any show of support for the authoritarian leader’s removal…
Gun-toting paramilitaries known as colectivos have been deployed to the streets of Caracas under a state of emergency announced on Monday, which forbade Venezuelans from showing support for the US raid. Media unions said 14 journalists and media workers — 11 from foreign outlets — had been detained for hours before being released…
Since US commandos seized Maduro and his politician wife Cilia Flores on Saturday, the remainder of his regime has sought to stifle public celebration.
How Do Americans Actually Feel?
American political sentiment cannot and should not be separated from the reality of a purpose built right-wing Trump protection propaganda machine.
Here’s a BBC Video about disinformation about the invasion being shared online:
In spite of this propaganda onslaught, it seems Americans as a whole really want the Venezuelan people to decide their fate. Venezuelans tried this in the most recent election and Maduro threw out the results that gave the presidency to his opponent in an apparent landslide. Will MAGA be manipulated into cheering even as the Venezuelan people are left in the lurch by the Trump admin?
Why Didn’t The Democrats Try To Stop This?
It’s important to understand what elected representatives did to attempt to force Trump to adhere to constitutional order in 2025 as he was killing non-combatants in the Carribean. Multiple resolutions were put up in Congress. Republicans voted them down every time.
ADDENDUM 1: How Our Oil System Works In One Video
America produces a lot of oil — but that’s not the truth people are told. About 80% of U.S. oil is light crude, and it gets exported. The most profitable oil is heavy crude—and we import it.
That’s why refineries were built where they were. That’s why the system hasn’t changed. And that’s why Venezuela matters.
Addendum 2: What Does Hollywood Think? (jk, jk)
I don’t always agree with big time Hollywood director Adam Mckay, but I thought this was worth sharing:
Maybe a more accurate and useful lens to view this moment for America is not that it’s in decline or “going through a dark period” but that it’s been conquered and is currently being sacked.
Conquered not by invading armies.
But by transnational banks, big oil, creepy billionaires, and a half a dozen foreign nations.
And their winning warfare innovation isn’t the long bow, the repeating rifle or the atomic bomb.
It’s advanced military grade marketing, advertising and algorithmic propaganda. Delivered by media conglomerates and social media sites as consumer choice.
Dark money has been the tip of the spear but with people basking in all of their consumer choices and reinforcing corporate news we haven’t even felt the pain of being run through.
Addendum 3: The Most Important Context For All Of This
The most important context to all of this is that Donald Trump attempted a coup five years ago today. The American people re-elected him anyway. And now he’s destabilizing the world.
There will be no economic boom for the American people. Venezuelan oil isn’t for Americans. It’s for oil companies to sell globally and boost profits, while taxpayers pay for the war.
There will be no self-determination for the Venezuelan people.
Those who will benefit are the corrupt people currently running our country, their wealthy donors, and foreign leaders with whom Trump has made shady deals. Someone with inside knowledge even placed an anonymous, lucrative bet on Polymarket that an invasion was imminent (American Prospect, Monetizing Regime Change). Trans-national corruption all the way down.
This context reminds us that our most paramount concern must be the state of our toxic information ecosystem and efforts to improve it. It is only under manipulation from an onslaught of propaganda that a people self-select deeply corrupt individuals to lead them. Information becomes our outcomes. And these outcomes are terrible.
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